The Catalan Traffic Service (SCT) relies on technological infrastructure to be able to reduce by more than 20% in 2026 the mortality recorded in 2023 on Catalan roads. Technology is the main bet in terms of safety that the Generalitat is proposing, as explained yesterday by the director of the SCT, Ramon Lamiel, at the press conference on the balance of road accidents last year, which was closed with a 14.3% reduction in fatalities on interurban roads.
Despite the decrease in the number of victims, the data, which take 2019 as a reference, indicate that the 15% reduction goal that had been established in the 2021-2023 plan has been narrowly missed. The rise in the number of motorists killed on the road, which has gone from 46 in 2022 to 52 in 2023, is particularly disturbing.
The head of the SCT quantified the investment needed to improve traffic management over the next three years: no less than 60 million euros. This first quarter of the year, the new road safety plan for Catalonia 2024-2026 will be approved, with four major strategic lines of action: traffic management infrastructure, a new communication and information strategy, continuous training throughout the drivers' lives and a new accident control strategy.
Lamiel insisted on the use of technology to "secure the road network", especially on the main roads in Catalonia. It is also planned to finance the Augusta project, an investment in 200 kilometers of high-capacity roads (AP-7, C-32, C-33, C-58, C-31), and the Scale project (AP-7, AP-2 and A-2), which will prepare the high-capacity tracks for the connected vehicle.
Tránsit plans, among other actions, to install up to 50 cameras with AI to evaluate traffic mixes and predict and improve congestion.
The goal that must not be lost sight of, Lamiel insisted, is to reduce the accident rate by 50% by 2030. "We are far from getting there, an important package of measures will be needed for this plan and for the next ones years", he acknowledged. The accident report that was presented yesterday indicates that a total of 150 people lost their lives in 134 fatal accidents throughout 2023. The number of fatal accidents was reduced by 16.8% compared to 2022. And in terms of serious injuries in interurban areas, in 2023 there were 713, 8.4% less.
In 2023, the month with the most road deaths was July, with 20 fatalities, followed by April, with 17. The months with the lowest number of accidents were February (six), May and June (ten dead each). The highest probability of a fatal accident was on Sunday afternoons. 79% of fatalities in interurban areas are men, and 21% are women.
Vulnerable groups account for almost half (46%) of fatalities: 52 motorists, 13 pedestrians and four cyclists. Lamiel was troubled by the increase in motorcyclist deaths. When asked about the new measure by the DGT to require a course for drivers of 125-cylinder motorcycles with a B license, he said that the practical training seems "adequate" and pointed out that in 2023 seven motorcyclists died who only they had a car license.
The road with the most deaths was again the AP-7, with 15, the same figure as before the release of tolls. As for the 77 accidents on urban roads, they ended the lives of 78 people, a disturbing 16.5% more than in 2019.
